Adepta Sororitas

The Adepta Sororitas (also known as "the Sisterhood" or "Daughters of the Emperor") are an all-female subdivision of the religious organisation known as the Ecclesiarchy or Ministorum. The Sisterhood's Orders Militant serve as the Ecclesiarchy's fighting arm, mercilessly rooting out corruption and heresy within humanity and every organisation of the Adeptus Terra.

The terms "Adepta Sororitas" and "Sisters of Battle" are commonly assumed to mean the same thing, but the latter title technically refers only to the Orders Militant - the military arm of the organisation which is the largest and the best-known part of the Sororitas.

Overview

The Sisterhood serves as the Ministorum's only official military forces because the Decree Passive rules that the Ecclesiarchy cannot maintain any "men under arms". This was supposed to limit the power of the Ecclesiarchy. However the Ministorum were able to circumvent this decree by using the all-female force of the Sisterhood.[Needs Citation]

There is naturally some overlap between the duties of the Sisterhood and the Inquisition; for this reason, although the Inquisition and the Sisterhood remain entirely separate organisations, the Orders Militant of the Sisterhood are the go-to favoured option when an Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor needs soldiers. [17]

History

Founding

Daughters of the Emperor

The Adepta Sororitas date their founding from the 36th Millennium, and more specifically from the later events of the Age of Apostasy. The Adepta Sororitas trace their origins to the world of San Leor. An order known as the "Daughters of the Emperor", an all-female cult dedicated to worship of the Emperor, had been discovered on San Leor by members of the Ecclesiarchy. Goge Vandire, the High Lord of the Administratum (and also Ecclesiarch of the Adeptus Ministorum), decided to visit San Leor and recruit the Daughters into his own private army. The Daughters at first refused to accept his authority. Vandire decided to show them that he was blessed by the Emperor - he instructed a soldier in his entourage to shoot him, which after a brief hesitation, he did. However, thanks to the protective field generated by the Rosarius of the Ecclesiarch (which no one but Vandire himself was aware of), Vandire was not harmed. The Daughters took this to be a sign, and swore allegiance to Vandire virtually on the spot. They were renamed the Brides of the Emperor, and became Vandire's most loyal followers.[1a]

Revelation and retribution

During the Siege of the Ecclesiarchal Palace, the Adeptus Custodes, the praetorians of the Emperor himself, tried to approach the Brides and convince them of Vandire's treachery. In a last ditch effort to convince them, the Custodes took Alicia Dominica, leader of the Brides, and her chosen bodyguards deep into the Imperial Palace where they stood before the Emperor himself. What happened there remains unknown - Dominica and her companions were sworn to secrecy - but it became clear that the Brides, who reverted to the title of Daughters of the Emperor, had been awakened to the evil that Vandire represented. Marching into his audience chamber, Dominica paused only to condemn Vandire for his crimes before she beheaded the power-crazed dictator. Reportedly, Vandire's final words were "I don't have time to die - I'm too busy!"[1b]

Reformation

After this episode, the newly appointed Ecclesiarch Sebastian Thor proclaimed the Decree Passive which forbade the Ecclesiarchy from having "men under arms". Under the literal interpretation of the decree the Adepta Sororitas, being female, were not obligated to disband. Thor, recognising the need for the Ecclesiarchy to have some kind of force and internal regulator, allowed them to remain even if the spirit of the decree was rather blatantly disregarded.[1c]

Organisation

Structure and Hierarchy

The Adepta Sororitas is part of the Ecclesiarchy and is divided between two Convents - the Convent Prioris located on Terra and the Convent Sanctorum based on Ophelia VII, although in practice their forces are spread throughout the Galaxy.[1d]

Below the Abbess are the Prioresses of the two Convents who are in charge of their Convent and the various Orders based there.[1d]

The Convents of the Sisterhood are organized into several Orders. There are two different kind of Orders: The Orders Militant, or Sisters of Battle, the military arm of the Ecclesiarchy composed of the six Major Orders and countless subsidiary Lesser Orders Militant; and the Non-Militant Orders, each of which has differents roles and responsibilities in the Imperium.[19a][19b]

The largest of the Non-Militant Orders rival the Sisters of Battle in size and notoriety, but there is also hundreds of other orders, the vast majority of which are unknown to the bulk of Mankind. The most well-known are the Orders Hospitaller, composed of surgeons, physicians and nurses, the Orders Dialogous, scholars dealing with languages, cyphers and translations, and the Orders Famulous, acting as diplomats, chamberlains and advisors for Imperial noble families[1d][1e]

It is not uncommon for a Sister to transfer from one of the Orders to another, particularly if a Battle Sister has become injured or is too old for combat they may transfer to one of the non-militant Orders.[3a]

Each of the major Orders follows the same basic hierarchical structure[2c]:

Order - Led by the head Canoness, called the Canoness Superior, who runs the entire Order.

Preceptory - A subsidiary convent or a large tactical detachment with up to 1,000 Sisters led by a Canoness Preceptor.

Commandery - Normally smaller convents or detachments of militant Sisters with up to 200 Sisters, led by a Canoness Commander.

Mission - The smallest organisation of Sisters, consisting of a few units and can be led by a Canoness or the lesser Palatine.

It should be noted that the non-militant Orders operate mainly at Mission and Commandery levels - Preceptory is a largely organisational tier. For example, a Commandery of the Order Hospitallier could be a staff of sisters working in a field hospital whilst a Mission of the Orders Famulous could be a handful of Sisters engaged in a trade delegation.[2c]

The Orders

Orders Militant

Commonly known as the Sisters of Battle, the Orders Militant are the most numerous and well known of the Adepta Soritas. They are the only official fighting force of the Ecclesiarchy and often prosecute Wars of Faith. They also form the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Hereticus and often fight alongside the Inquisitors of that Ordo.[2b][2c]

Lesser Orders Militant

Since their founding the Major Orders Militant have established a number of subsidiary convents at sites significant to the Ecclesiarchy. Sometimes little more than small Garrisons, these bases have developed identities distinct from their parent Orders over time, eventually becoming separate Orders all together. These smaller Orders are referred to as the Orders Minoris or Lesser Orders Militant. In theory the leaders of the Lesser Orders are answerable to the leaders of the Major Order that spawned them.[2a]

Non-Militant Orders

The Sisters Hospitaller are surgeons, physicians and nurses. They aid the poor, and heal the sick and the wounded in many hospitals and clinics of the Sisterhood and serve in all departments of the Imperiums armed services except the Adeptus Astartes.[2c]

The Sisters Dialogus help to translate the innumerable dialects and slangs used throughout the Imperium.[11] At the behest of the Inquisition and certain parties they also study Xenos languages[4], also translating texts obtained from Xeno artefacts. Sisters Dialogous are often employed as Sages in Ordo HereticusInquisitors' retinues.

The Sisters Famulous organise and maintain households of certain Imperial governors[9] and Imperial nobles, serving as advisors and by their very presence reminding them of their higher loyalties. They oppose any disloyalty with the support of faithful followers from the inside of the household itself[8].

The Sisters of the Orders Sabine accompany the Missionarius Galaxia on missions to rediscover new worlds. The Sisters specialise in infiltrating primitive societies and introduce elements of the Imperial Creed to the natives.[3b]

Orders Madriga

Orders Planxilium

The Orders Planxilium form thousand-strong processionals leading weeping and wailing pilgrims upon the remembrance and high holy days of Veneris.[19b]

Orders Vespila

The ‘dark sisters’ of the Orders Vespila are tasked by Cardinal Kregory Hestor with the sanctification of the bodies of fallen kin, and are sometimes called upon to serve as forensic specialists when a Throne Agent has recourse to disinter a long dead corpse.[19b]

Ranks and Positions

Abbess of the Adepta Sororitas - the commander of the Convent Sanctorum on Terra; also the overall spiritual leader of the Sisterhood. In military matters she is assisted the Prioress of the Convent Sanctorum. Although there is only a single Abbess, her full title is Abbess Sanctorum. Presently the position is vacant.

Ranks of the Orders Militant

Celestian - Elite Battle Sisters, they often form squads of bodyguards for Cannonesses and Palatines.

Seraphim - only the very best Battle Sisters are elevated to the rank of Seraphim and are generally organized into specialize squads. Seraphim receive special training and equipment, primarily jump packs.